1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a Software Defined Radio (SDR) system, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for reducing complexity and power consumption in a SDR system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, mobile communication systems, which started with analog schemes in the 1980s, have converted to digital schemes in their system configuration to cope with the rapid increase in the number of users and to meet the demands for various high-speed services in the 1990s. In the 2000s, 3rd Generation (3G) mobile communication technology for the next generation multimedia service and super high-speed data communication is being developed. In this course, emphasis is laid on system efficiency and flexibility that can be adapted to the fast-varying mobile communication environment and its relevant technology.
As the communication technology undergoes a rapid change from the analog scheme to the digital scheme, many functions of the mobile communication system, which were implemented by hardware in the existing system, are now being implemented by software. For example, an extensive study of SDR technology is being conducted. SDR technology allows a Mobile Station (MS) to use several communication schemes in software approach.
SDR technology enables reconfiguration of a wireless interface through wirelessly downloadable software. Therefore, with use of SDR technology, one platform can support various communication schemes in real time at the request of a user, or by a network manager.
In a wireless mobile communication system, most function blocks, including a Radio Frequency (RF) block, are performed by a software module which is implemented by a programmable fast processing device. Therefore, SDR technology supports multiple wireless access standards or service functions simply with reconfiguration of necessary software without hardware replacement.
Specifically, the SDR concept enables processing of Radio Frequency (RF)/Intermediate Frequency (IF) signals as well as baseband signals with use of reconfigurable devices, thereby providing a system configuration applicable to both the existing system and the new system standard. The reconfigurable devices include fast Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and the like.
For construction of a system flexibly applicable to various wireless access environments, SDR technology enables seamless global communication by downloading an object-oriented software application in a single hardware platform having open architecture. In addition, SDR technology enables one system to accommodate various standards currently available in the mobile communication market. Therefore, SDR technology is considered as a system building technology capable of providing multiple standards, multiple processing frequencies, and various services.
As described above, SDR technology refers to a wireless system capable of software-reconfiguring the entire system functions. Attempts to develop, standardize, and commercialize the relevant technologies are being made through SDR Forum.
Although the importance of SDR technology is widely recognized, the current research is being conducted restrictively to a SDR base station by communication equipment manufacturers. In particular, there is no research on a SDR terminal. Therefore, for actual application of SDR technology, there is a need for extensive research on a new terminal system architecture combined of the latest hardware technology and software-related mobile communication technology.